Disney has shut down the LucasArts studio. The closure will see both Star Wars 1313 and Star Wars: First Assault cancelled. In addition, the closure of the studio will see many LucasArts’ employees losing their jobs due to Disney’s decision to shift to a licensing-only model going forward.

The move to a licensing-only model will minimize the company’s risk. Disney also thinks that the licensing-only model will result in a larger number of quality Star Wars games, according to Disney’s announcement.

There is no word yet on which publishers and studios Disney will partner with, or what the future may hold for new Star Wars titles. Also, there is no word on the back catalog of titles that LucasArts has compiled over the years.

With the closing, it is estimated that around 150 employees will lose their jobs.

If you follow the trademark and domain names that companies register, you can lean a lot.

LucasArts has registered a new trademark for “interactive entertainment software” called Star Wars: First Assault. The title is destined for consoles, computers, and mobile phones.

If you put two and two together here, it could be that this is the Battlefront-style title that has been rumored in development at Spark Unlimited. While we don’t know anything, really, and LucasArts isn’t talking, it would seem that the title does make it at least a possibility. We will have to wait and see, but don’t expect to hear anything soon.

While many investors are not that excited about Star Wars: The Old Republic finally making its way to release, fans of the title are eager to give the new Star Wars MMO a chance. The bad news is, however, that instead of the projected spring 2011 release, sources are now telling us that a September release is becoming more likely.

While BioWare and Electronic Arts have not confirmed a release date change, it is well known behind closed doors that the title has been the victim of a number of delays. A number of analysts that we have spoken with tell us that they are worried about the money that has been spent on the development of the game and the fact that the subscription model could be tough for the company to gain traction with; and when you combine all of this with the rumored exceptionally high development costs and high royalties that EA is paying for LucasArts, success could be elusive for the title.

Sources tell us that we should expect to hear more about a release date from EA during E3 in June. It is expected by then that they will have a good handle on when the title will finally ship. We hope that the title is successful, as rumors suggest that this could be one of the more expensive video games that have ever been produced; and it seems to have a lot of factors working against its potential success.